Method of photocopying an image onto and edible web for decorating iced baked goods

ABSTRACT

An iced cake ( 92 ) is decorated with an edible substrate sheet ( 100 ) having a color image ( 200 ) reproduced thereon by a plain paper photocopy process. The sheet ( 100 ) is passed along a straight, generally unheated copy path ( 24 ) through a plain paper, color inkjet photocopy machine ( 10 ) to reproduce thereon the color image ( 200 ) placed on the photocopy glass ( 12 ).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] I. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to cake decorations and the likeand more particularly to applying images to edible substrate material insheet form to produce a decoration which can be placed directly onto aniced baked good, e.g., a cake with frosting, and eaten with the bakedgood.

[0003] II. Description of Prior Art

[0004] Cake and other baked good decorations are quite popular,especially among children. Such decorations typically consisted ofhand-applied icing-based decorations and/or miniature toys placed ontothe icing or frosting. More recently, in an attempt to satisfycommercial bakers, attempts have been made at providing mass produceddecorations which minimize the need for the time and labor-intensiveicing applications. Chief among such attempts is the decorated ediblesubstrate sheet such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,017,394 which is madeby a silk screening process. As is well understood, the silk-screenprocess requires that the desired image be formed into several screens,one for each color. The screens are then used as templates to reproducethe image on the substrate by forcing edible coloring materials throughthe screen openings. The substrate may be placed on an iced or frostedcake and eaten therewith.

[0005] While the silk-screen printing process produces a decoration,that process is still somewhat time and labor-intensive. Moreover, withthe silk screen process, the range of decorated designs has beensomewhat limited. As the design must be formed into multiple screens,make-ready costs and inventory restraints limit the number of pre-madedesigns that will be on hand. Additionally, the silk screen process isan inherently low resolution process.

[0006] Many consumers are not satisfied with the limited design choicesavailable. Indeed, many consumers would prefer to customize thedecorations but cannot readily do so. By way of example, iced or frostedcakes having a decoration that depicts the face of the birthday childwould be highly desirable. The silk screen process, however, iseconomically unsuitable for one-off or custom designs. Instead, such adecoration may be provided by placing the actual photograph or areproduction thereof onto the icing. But the photograph or reproductionis not edible and so must be removed before the iced cake can be eaten.

[0007] An improvement to the photograph has been to provide a costly andcomplex cake printing system. In such a system, an electronic scannerdigitalizes a photographic image, and a separate, electronic computerdevice drives a printer that sets over the iced cake to form the imagedirectly on the cake. Not only is such a system slow, it requiresseveral costly computer components. Moreover, the icing on the cake mustbe nearly perfectly flat so as not to impact or foul up the printermechanism. The task of properly icing a cake for such a device is quitedifficult and prone to error requiring greater sophistication on thepart of the icer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] The present invention provides a method and for easily andquickly decorating iced baked goods in a virtually unlimited range ofdesigns customized to the customer's desires. To this end, and inaccordance with the principles of the present invention, a plain papercolor photocopy machine utilizing inkjet technology to reproduce theimage is advantageously applied to the cake decorating art to therebyprovide a simple, automatic way to apply a virtually unlimited range ofcolor images to an edible substrate sheet which is then applied to theiced baked good. Thus, a method of decorating an iced baked good isprovided by color photocopying a color image placed on the photocopyglass onto an edible substrate sheet passing through the photocopymachine and then placing the decorated sheet onto the iced baked goodwithout concern for ideal placement of the icing on the baked good. Theresulting iced baked good with the decorated substrate sheet may beeaten without regard to destruction or removal of the decoratedsubstrate. Yet, the decorated substrate may contain virtually any imagedesired by the consumer including a depiction of the birthday child, byway of example, without requiring an inventory of different designs,multiple equipment items, highly sophisticated icing talents, or thetime, material, and labor of a silk-screen process.

[0009] The nature of edible substrate sheets was thought to precludetheir use in plain paper photocopy machines. Many edible substratesheets have a very high moisture content and so would tend to gum-up thepaper or copy path of conventional copy machines. Also, most ediblesubstrate sheets are relatively flimsy sheets, and so would not likelysurvive a pass through the machine along the copy path. Indeed, the copypath in such machines is quite tortuous making them unsuitable forphotocopying onto either flimsy or rigid edible substrate sheets.Additionally, color photocopy machines often employ a heating element tofix or dry the ink on the paper. Edible substrate sheets cannot toleratethe high heats involved and so would likely be damaged or destroyedduring the photocopy process.

[0010] The present invention overcomes these various problems. To thisend, and in accordance with one aspect of the invention, where theedible substrate is flimsy and/or has a high moisture content, theedible sheet is mounted to a supporting carrier which is passed alongthe copy path. With the supporting carrier, the flimsy or high moisture,edible sheet is held together to survive the photocopy process.Moreover, the traction mechanism used to pull the copy paper through thephotocopy machine may grab at the leading edge of the paper and/or alongthe peripheral side edges of the paper. The edible sheet is sized sothat it does not project to the leading edge and to the side edges ofthe carrier such that traction applied thereat will not damage thesheet, nor will the sheet gum up the traction mechanism thereat. Tofurther protect the sheet, a thin polyester silicon adhesive tape may beplaced over the leading edge of the sheet and onto the carrier thereat.

[0011] In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, ithas been discovered that the inks applied to the edible sheet need notbe dried as is the case for conventional inkjet color photocopying.Thus, it is possible to disable the heaters such that the copy path issubstantially unheated. As a consequence, the image can be reproducedonto the edible sheet without heating and without, therefore,deleteriously affecting the edible substrate sheet.

[0012] In accordance with a yet further aspect of the present invention,it has been discovered that the conventional paper path can beinterrupted such that the copy path is substantially straight betweenwhere the edible substrate (and carrier, if provided) is inserted andejected. In this regard, the plain paper color inkjet photocopy machinetypically applies the inks to reproduce the image as the copy paperpasses along a straight portion of the copy path which then continues ina straight path to the outlet. The reproducer and outlet path arereferred to herein as a terminal portion of the copy path. The tortuouspath is thus usually provided between the copy paper source, such as adrawer in the machine, and the reproducer mechanism in the terminalcopying portion of the copy path. To this end, and in accordance withthe yet further aspect of the method, the tortuous copy path isinterrupted and a substrate input is defined adjacent the entry to theterminal portion of the copy path such that the edible sheet (andcarrier) will traverse a substantially straight copy path so as toenhance survivability of the sheet as it passes through the machine,while also reducing the areas of the machine that could be gummed-up bythe edible sheet.

[0013] Typical of color inkjet photocopy machines is the use of coloredinks that allow for a wide range of vivid color reproductions. Such inksmay be used to decorate edible sheets by photocopying in accordance withthe present invention where the inks are not toxic. Advantageously,however, food grade inks formulated to be edible and using FDA approvedFD&C food coloring are used.

[0014] By virtue of the foregoing, there is thus provided a method toeasily and quickly decorate iced baked goods such as cakes that issimple, automated, and allows for a wide range of image designs. Theseand other objects and advantages of the present invention shall be madeapparent from the accompanying drawings and the description thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in andconstitute a part of this specification, illustrate an embodiment of theinvention and, together with the general description of the inventiongiven above and the detailed description of the embodiment given below,serve to explain the principles of the present invention.

[0016]FIG. 1 is a schematic, cross-sectional view of a plain paper colorinkjet photocopy machine for decorating edible substrate sheets inaccordance with the principals of the present invention;

[0017]FIG. 2 is a top plan view of an edible substrate sheet for usewith the machine of FIG. 1; and

[0018]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an iced cake with a decoratededible substrate sheet for purposes of describing the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] With reference to FIG. 1, there is shown in schematic form across-section of a plain paper color inkjet photocopy machine 10 fordecorating an edible web or substrate sheet 100 with any image 200(including its various colorations) placed on the photocopy glass 12 ofmachine 10. Machine 10 would conventionally include within its housing13 a copy paper supply tray 14 with a feed mechanism 16 to feed a sheetof copy paper 17 along tortuous copy path 18 (as represented by arrows18) which extends from sheet feed mechanism 16 adjacent to tray 14,around a 180° curved or arced section 20 of a guide 22 into a generallystraight, terminal copy path segment (represented by arrow 24 of arrows18). Copy path segment 24 begins at just upstream of traction infedrollers 26, passes through traction outfed rollers 28, and onto paperoutput or outfed tray 30. An image reproduction system 32 communicatesinto the area 34 between rollers 26 and 28 whereat the image 200 onglass 12 is caused to be reproduced onto the copy paper in area 34before the paper is expelled from output rollers 28 onto receiving tray30.

[0020] Image reproducer system 32 is based on a conventional inkjettechnology and includes an electronic, computerized image scanning unit38 which controls a plurality of cartridges 40A, 40B, 40C, and 40D whichcontain image reproduction materials such as magenta, blue, yellow, andblack inks, respectively, such that a wide variety of colors may beapplied to substrate 100 while passing through the image reproducer area34. An example of a suitable photocopy machine 10 is the Hewlett PackardModel 210C copier, which includes an inkjet image reproducer system 32.Terminal copy path segment 24 may also include a heater 42 in area 24 bywhich to dry the inks 40A, 40B, 40C, and 40D applied by image reproducersystem 32.

[0021] In accordance with the one aspect of the present invention, anupper alignment surface 44 of guide 22 is utilized to interruptphotocopy path 18 and define a substrate input 46 at the front edge ofsubstrate. A substrate support tray 48 with a flat surface 50 isconnected adjacent to the back edge 52 of surface 44 such that substratesheet 100 will traverse a substantially straight path from tray 48 alongupper alignment surface 44 of guide 22 and onto terminal copy pathsegment 24, and output 28. In this way, edible substrate sheet 100placed on support 48 may be fed into machine 10 at input 46 to travelalong the substantially straight copy path 24 without following anytortuous bends or significant curves as at 20, to thereby enhancesurvivability of substrate 100. Where machine 10 is the Model 210Cmentioned above, a door (not shown) is provided behind guide 22 whichallows access to guide 22 and alignment surface 44 thereof. Guide 22 ofthat machine is removable and, to that end, includes a handle 54 tofacilitate removal and insertion. Guide 22 may therefore be removed toallow secure attachment of tray 48 thereto. Tray 48 may also utilizeedge guides (not shown) to help align substrate 100 into input 46. Wheretray 48 is metal, the edge guides may be magnetic bars. Further, in theModel 210C, alignment surface 44 is slightly curved but is shortrelative to the length of substrate sheet 100 and is thus stillconsidered to be straight within the meaning of that term herein.

[0022] Additionally, and advantageously, substrate 100 should passthrough machine 10 without heating same. To this end, heater 42 iseither disabled or not included in machine 10. The Model 210C has aglossy paper mode of operation in which heater 42 is not energized.

[0023] With reference to FIG. 2, there is shown an embodiment of a sheetof edible substrate 100 to which an image is to be applied by machine10. Edible substrate sheet 100 is mounted to a carrier web 102 which isa blank sheet of wax film or silicone release paper. Carrier 102 istypically sized to replicate normal copy paper such as 8½inch by 11 inchpaper, or 210 millimeter by 297 millimeter (A4) paper. To this end,respective leading and trailing edges 104, 106 of carrier 102 are spacedeleven inches or 297 mm apart, and respective left and right side edges108, 110 are spaced 8½inches or 210 mm apart, to define an upper surface112 thereof. Edible film substrate 100 is placed directly onto the uppersurface 112 of carrier 102 with surface 114 facing up. Where sheet 100has a high moisture content, the high moisture content helps to adheresubstrate 100 to surface 112 carrier 102. Advantageously, substrate 100is sized so that it does not extend all the way to the left or rightedges 108, 110 of carrier 102 so as to leave an exposed strip 116, 118along sides 108, 110, respectively. Also, substrate 100 may extend shortof leading and/or trailing edges 104 and 106 of carrier 102 so as todefine an exposed strip 122 and 124 thereat. For an 8½inch by 11 inchcarrier 102, substrate 100 would normally be dimensioned to about 7inches by 10¼inches and centered on surface 112. In this way, anytraction mechanism (such as rollers 26 and 28) in machine 10 that grabsalong the edges 108, 110 will not grab on to substrate 100 therebyreducing the likelihood of damage to substrate 100 and/or gumming up thetraction mechanisms. Also, in any event, due to exposed strips 116, 118,122 and/or 124, there is less likelihood that any traction mechanismwhich initially grabs or helps propel the copy paper will become caughtup or tangled in substrate 100 and thereby reduces the likelihood ofdamage to substrate 100 and/or gumming up of machine 10. To help protectsubstrate 100, the leading edge 130 of substrate 100 may have appliedthereover a thin strip of polyester silicon adhesive tape 132 thatextends onto edge 122. Tape 132 helps protect edge 130 from snagging andis particularly advantageous for use in photocopying machines where thepaper path is curved as opposed to straight.

[0024] In use, edible substrate film 100 is placed on substrate supporttray 48 and inserted into inlet 46, leading edge 104 or trailing edge106 first, and with substrate sheet 100 face up (surface 114 up). Theimage 200 which is to be reproduced onto substrate 100 is placed facedown on photocopy glass 12 and lid 60 thereof closed. Machine 10 is thenactivated in conventional manner (such as by depressing the copybutton). As the image is scanned by unit 38, substrate 100 is pulledinto machine 10 (with or without carrier 102) and it will traverse alongalignment surface 44, into image reproducer area 34 whereat the image200 scanned by unit 38 caused to be is reproduced onto the surface 114of substrate 100 by conventional inkjet application of inks incartridges 40A, 40B, 40C, and to 40D so as to produce a vivid colorreproduction of image 200. Thereafter, substrate 100 passes out ofmachine 10 onto output tray 30 all while traveling along a substantiallystraight photocopy path.

[0025] After the image 200 is reproduced onto surface 114 of substrate100, substrate 100 is removed from machine 10 and pealed from carrier102 (if it was mounted thereto in the first place) and strip 132 removedor left behind on carrier 102 (if strip 132 was used). Substrate 100 isthen laid, surface 114 up, onto the icing or frosting 90 of an icedbaked good such as a cake 92 as shown in FIG. 3. Iced cake 92 may thenbe cut and served in any desired fashion by cutting through not only thecake and icing but also through substrate 100 as indicated by dashedlines 96. As substrate 100 and the inks forming the image thereon areedible, they may be consumed along with cake 92.

[0026] Advantageously, heater 42 is either disabled or not provided suchthat there is no substantial heating of substrate 100 as it traversesalong the photocopy path 24 and thereby the deleterious effects ofheating on substrate 100 are avoided. Further advantageously, substratesheet 100 may be a web of high moisture content paper, such as disclosedin aforesaid U.S. Pat. No. 5,017,394 and available from The LucksCompany in Seattle, Wash.; or the edible paper described in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/166,492, filed Oct. 5, 1998, and entitled“Edible Paper and Method and Apparatus for Making Same”, the disclosureof which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.Alternatively, sheet 100 may be a rigid edible substrate wafer availablefrom Primus Ouwelfabriek B. V. of Zaandam, Holland. Where the web has ahigh moisture content or is not sufficiently rigid, substrate 100 isadvantageously applied or mounted on carrier 102 as above-described suchthat carrier 102 and substrate 100 are carried together through thephotocopy machine 10 along path 24. To this end, carrier 102 andsubstrate 100 are placed on substrate support tray 48 with substratesurface 114 facing upwardly to face image reproducer system 32 assubstrate 100 passes through reproducer area 34. Alternatively, the web100 may be introduced into machine 10 without carrier 102 if sheet 100is sufficiently rigid. In any event, it will be appreciated that “web”as used herein is shorthand for a sheet of edible paper or the like.

[0027] As will be appreciated, the inks in cartridges 40A, 40B, 40C, and40D must be nontoxic so that they do not render the edible substratematerial essentially inedible. Advantageously, the inks are edible inkswhich include FDA approved FD&C dyes. The high moisture content ofsubstrate 100 facilitates the absorption of the ink into the body ofsubstrate 100. Further advantageously, inks containing an effectiveamount of isopropyl or ethyl alcohol which evaporates as substrate 100passes out of machine 10 are used. Such inks also maintain sterility ofthe inks while in the cartridges 40A, 40B, 40C, and 40D and yet cause afast drying effect of the ink applied to substrate 100. The basicformulation of such inks is 5% isopropyl or ethyl alcohol, 8% glycerin,FD&C food color as appropriate, with the balance comprised of distilledwater.

[0028] By virtue of the foregoing there is thus provided a method ofdecorating iced baked goods that is simple, automated, and allows for avirtually limited range of custom and personalized designs.

[0029] While the present invention has been illustrated by thedescription of an embodiment thereof, and while the embodiment has beendescribed in considerable detail, it is not intended to restrict or inany way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail.Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to thoseskilled in the art. For example, while three color and one-black inkcartridges are shown, the color cartridges could be provided by a singletri-color ink cartridge. Moreover, conventional photocopiers utilizingtoners rather then inks may be employed, if the toners produce edibleimages. Similarly, while the photocopy machine is shown as an integralunit, the scanning and image reproducer aspects need not be in the samehousing. As will be appreciated, a characteristic of plain paperphotocopy machines is that single button operation results in scanningof an image on the copy glass and reproduction of same on the web. Thus,where the scanning and image reproduction aspects are separate (withinor without the same housing), but cooperate to produce the effect of aplain paper photocopy machine with, in essence, one button operation toscan and reproduce the image, the two aspects are deemed to define aphotocopy machine as that term is used herein. The invention in itsbroader aspects is, therefore, not limited to the specific details,representative apparatus and method, and illustrative examples shown anddescribed. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept.

Having described the invention, what is claimed is:
 1. A method ofdecorating an iced bake good with an image comprising: mounting anedible web to a carrier; placing the image on a copy glass of aphotocopy machine; passing the carrier and edible web along a copy paththrough the photocopy machine; and reproducing the image on the copyglass onto the edible web as it passes along the copy path.
 2. Themethod of claim 1 further comprising passing the carrier through thephotocopy machine along a substantially straight copy path.
 3. Themethod of claim 1 further comprising passing the carrier along the copypath without heating the edible web.
 4. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising reproducing the image with edible ink.
 5. The method of claim1 further comprising placing the edible web with the image reproducedthereon on to said iced baked good.
 6. The method of claim 5 furthercomprising removing the edible web with the image reproduced thereonfrom the carrier before placing said web on to said iced baked good. 7.The method of claim 1 further comprising applying a protective stripover a leading edge of the edible web.
 8. A method of decorating an icedbaked good with an image comprising: placing the image on a copy glassof a photocopy machine; passing an edible web along a copy path throughthe photocopy machine; and reproducing the image on the copy glass ontothe edible web as it passes along the copy path.
 9. The method of claim8 further comprising passing the edible web through the photocopymachine along a substantially straight copy path.
 10. The method ofclaim 8 further comprising passing the edible web along the copy pathwithout heating the edible web.
 11. The method of claim 8 furthercomprising reproducing the image with edible ink.
 12. The method ofclaim 8 further comprising placing the edible web with the imagereproduced thereon on to said iced baked good.
 13. A method ofdecorating an iced baked good with a color image comprising: placing thecolor image on a copy glass of an color inkjet photocopying machine;passing an edible web along a copy path through the color inkjetphotocopy machine; reproducing onto the edible web a reproduction of thecolor image on the photocopy glass with inkjet inks as the edible webpasses along the copy; and placing the edible web with the reproductionof the color image on to the iced baked good.
 14. The method of claim 13further comprising mounting the edible web to a carrier before passingthe edible web along the copy path.
 15. The method of claim 14 furthercomprising removing the edible web from the carrier before placing theedible web on the iced baked good.
 16. The method of claim 13 furthercomprising applying a protective strip over a leading edge of the edibleweb.